Green Mamas

The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I were out of the house like a shot this morning to visit the Butterfly Museum before The Tot needed a nap. It, too, was deserted. We checked in our stroller, played around in Riverworks (The Tot was soaked) and then were the only 3 kids in Hands on Habitat for quite awhile. While there, I noticed an informational flyer about the museum's early childhood green programs. Alas, The Boy gets out of school later than the museum's 3:30 p.m. start time for kids 5-7 and The Girl is in preschool during the 9:30 slot for kids aged 3-4. One side of the flyer advertised the "Eco-Mama Cafe," a new class/discussion group for new/green moms. It's for babies under 6 months. I am bummed because I would totally go for something like that if it were geared toward The Tot.

Anyway... I used the opportunity of putting 3 sets of laced-up shoes back on their little feet to start teaching The Boy and The Girl how to tie their shoes. The Girl was really interested. The Boy, for whom this skill is more pressing, was not. Then we walked down the hall to the vending area and had snacks: cheese sticks and apples for The Tot and The Girl, celery with peanut butter for The Boy.

We went upstairs to see the butterflies next. The Boy didn't want to go through the haven, so he stayed in the information area outside the haven while The Girl, The Tot, and I zipped through. The Girl cracks me up because she really wanted to see the butterflies, but once we got in the haven, she showed trepidation about exploring the area: she would not let go of my hand and moved with me the whole time. She was scared of a butterly landing on her. The Tot, meanwhile, found the butterflies quite interesting and didn't mind when one lost its way and fluttered against his neck before flying away. He wanted to touch the butterflies.

We went back downstairs to check out the marsh exhibit, but The Tot was done by that point. He kept walking over to the Riverworks area and would not be deterred, so we called it a day and went home. The Tot fell asleep in the car.